Hurts DonutFranchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Data from FDD filing + SBA 7(a) records
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A Hurts Donut franchise requires a total initial investment of $504K – $825K, including a $35K franchise fee and an ongoing 7.0% royalty[2]. Per the 2025 FDD, average unit revenue was $1.2M[2]. SBA 7(a) loans show a 37.5% charge-off rate across 16 loans[1]. Verdict grade: C. Run a live ROI scan →
Data last verified June 18, 2026 · figures per the 2025 FDD issuance
Overview
- Investment
- $504K – $825K
- 81st pct Service Resta…
- Avg gross sales
- $1.2M
- 39th pct Service Resta…
- Royalty
- 7.0%
- 80th pct Service Resta…
- Units
- 16
- 43rd pct Service Resta…
- SBA default
- 37.5%
- system-wide median varies by category
Quick verdict · Quick-Service Restaurants · color = vs category peers
Green = >15% above Quick-Service Restaurants avg · No shading = within ±15% · Red = >15% below avg · Source: FDD filings + SBA 7(a)
Data from public FDD filings and SBA records. Not financial advice. Methodology
37.5% of SBA loans charged off across 16 loans, above the 16% franchise average.
The system contracted 17% year-over-year. Investigate why units are closing.
Bottom line
- Total investment $504K – $825K including a $35K franchise fee, 7.0% ongoing royalty.
- Average unit revenue of $1.2M/year (median $1.1M).
- Verdict C (Average) with a risk score of 68/100. SBA loan charge-off rate of 37.5% across 16 loans (well above the 16% franchise average, based on all SBA 7(a) franchise lending, 2010–2024).
- 3 units terminated last reporting year (18.8% of the system). Ask existing franchisees why.
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
- Legal entity
- HURTS DONUT COMPANY, LLC
- CEO title
- Chief Executive Officer
- Timothy Clegg
- CEO experience
- 9 yrs
- Years in role or industry
- Incorporated in
- MO
- HQ
- 2034 W. Vista Street, Springfield, MO 65807
- Auditor
- Roberts, McKenzie, Mangan & Cummings
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $1.6M
- vs $1.5M prior year
Overview
About
Franchisees operate quick-service donut shops featuring Hurts Donut's specialty varieties, likely including production/baking, retail sales, and customer service. Day-to-day operations involve inventory management, staffing, quality control, peak-hour service (mornings), point-of-sale management, and adherence to brand standards across a small (16-unit) system.
- CEO
- Timothy Clegg
- Headquarters
- MO
- Founded
- 2015
- FDD year
- 2025
- States available
- 10
FDD Item 7 · 2025 filing
Initial investment breakdown
| Cost component | Low | High |
|---|---|---|
| Initial franchise fee | $35K | $35K |
| Working capital (3–6 mo) | $5K | $20K |
| Equipment, build-out, other | $464K | $770K |
| Total initial investment | $504K | $825K |
Source: Hurts Donut 2025 FDD, Items 5 and 7[2]. “Equipment, build-out, other” is computed as total minus disclosed line items above.
Single-unit · estimated
Returns at a glance
Indicative numbers using FDD Item 7 / Item 19 inputs and category-benchmarked cost ratios. Full single-unit, 25-unit portfolio, and LBO models (with every input editable to stress-test your own scenario) live on the financials page.
Store EBITDA · annual
$151K
13.0% margin
Unlevered ROIC
22%
EBITDA / total invested capital
Payback
4.5 yrs
cash-on-cash, unlevered
Item 7 · what it costs to open + operate
The Vitals
- Total investment
- $504K – $825K
- Below avg, review vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $5K – $20K
- Better than avg vs category
- Franchise fee
- $35K – $35K
- Near category avg vs category
- Royalty
- 7.0%
- Gross Revenues · typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- 2.0%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 9.0%
- vs 9–13% typical
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 7.0% of gross sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 2.0% of gross sales |
| Training fee | $10K |
| Transfer fee | $18K |
| Renewal fee | $0 |
| Total fee load | 9.0% of rev |
Financial Performance
- Avg gross sales
- $1.2M
- Per unit, per year
- Median gross sales
- $1.1M
- Item 19 type
- gross_sales
- Sample size
- 15 units
- vs category median 28
- Range (low → high)
- $566K→$2.9M
- Cohort dispersion (min → max)
- Reporting year
- 2024
- Fiscal year the figures cover
- Transparency
- 4 / 5
- vs category median 4 / 5 · typical
Compared against 453 Quick-Service Restaurants brands
vs Quick-Service Restaurants averages
How Hurts Donut Compares
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 16
- Opened
- 1
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 4
- Terminated
- 3
- Franchisor ended the franchise (per Item 20)
- Non-renewed
- 1
- Term expired, not renewed (per Item 20)
- Turnover rate
- 25.0%
- Company-owned
- 1
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 94%
- vs corporate-owned
- Multi-unit owners
- 11.1%
- Net growth (yr3)
- -16.7%
- Net unit change last year
- 3-yr CAGR
- -16.7%
- Compounded over last 3 years
3-year detail · Item 20
- Transfers (3yr)
- 2
- Projected new
- 4
- Franchisor's next-year forecast
- Transfer rate
- 12.5%
- Owners selling to other franchisees
- Termination rate
- 25.0%
- Franchisor-initiated terminations
- Ceased ops
- 31.3%
- Units that stopped operating
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 28 states with active franchisees
The Territory Map
Derived from franchisee contact records. Shows states with at least one current operator. Not where the franchisor is registered to sell new units (that data is re-extracting in a future refresh).
States derived from franchisee contact records (FDD Item 20). Shows states with at least one current operator on file. Full state registration data (Item 12) will appear on a future FDD refresh.
SBA loan performance
Government records
SBA Loan Data
Aggregated from SBA 7(a) and 504 loan disclosures, public data unique to FranchiseVerdict.
- Total loans
- 16
- Loan volume
- $4.9M
- Median loan
- $304K
- average
- Charge-off rate
- 37.5%
- rates vary by category · see methodology
Historical SBA 7(a) lending data, not predictive of future performance. How SBA charge-off rates are calculated
- Repayment rate (PIF)
- N/A
- 5-yr charge-off
- 50.0%
- Loans approved 2021+
- Active lenders
- 8
- Defaults
- 6
Explore lender portfolios on Bank Reports or regional data on State Reports.
A 37.5% charge-off rate means roughly 1 in 3 franchisees failed to repay their SBA loan. Investigate what changed.
Risk analysis
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 5, 6, 12, 17
Risk & Legal
Contracting donut franchise with meaningful unit decline, opaque profitability metrics, and capital-intensive model relative to disclosed revenues creates elevated investment risk despite absence of litigation.
Litigation (Item 3)
No litigation required to be disclosed
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · Roberts, McKenzie, Mangan & Cummings
Franchisor revenue (Item 21)
Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)
Supplier relationship · Items 8 & 16
- Franchisor sells you products: Yes
- Kickbacks from required suppliers: No
- Must buy proprietary products: Yes
- Restricted to system-approved products: Yes
- Can negotiate own supplier terms: No
Score breakdown · what drove the 68 / 100 rating
- 01MEDSystem contracting sharply: 16 units with -16.7% YoY decline indicates potential franchisee dissatisfaction or unit closures
- 02MINORNo Item 19 net income disclosure despite $1.16M average revenue raises profitability transparency concerns
- 03MINORHigh investment-to-revenue ratio: $504k-$825k initial cost against ~$1.16M revenue suggests 6-12+ month breakeven timeline with no profit visibility
- 04MINORFranchise fee appears modest but royalty structure (7% of weekly gross) lacks context on actual net margins after COGS and labor
- 05MINORSmall system size (16 units) limits franchisor support infrastructure and negotiating power with suppliers
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
FDD Items 5, 6, 12, 17 · continued from Risk & Legal
Contract & Territory Detail
| Initial term | 5 years |
|---|---|
| Renewal term | 5 years |
| Allowed renewalsℹ | 1 |
| Territory type | Geographic region (zip codes, natural, or political boundaries) |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Exclusive territoryℹ | Yes |
| Territory population | 150,000 |
| Online sales rightsℹ | Restricted |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Allowed |
| Owner-operator | Required |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 2 years |
| Non-compete (miles)ℹ | 50 mi |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| Transfer requires consent | Yes |
| Termination notice | 30 days |
| Mandatory arbitration | No |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | Missouri |
| Litigation count | 0 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
No litigation required to be disclosed
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 0 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 128 hrs
- Training location
- On-site and at franchisor location
- Ongoing training
- Required
- Time to open
- 4 mo
- From signing to launch
- POS system
- Square
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: Square
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
40 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
FDD download
Hurts Donut · FDD (2025) PDF
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a Hurts Donut franchise?
The total investment to open a Hurts Donut franchise ranges from $504K – $825K, with an initial franchise fee of $35K. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
What do Hurts Donut franchise owners earn?
According to Item 19 of the Hurts Donut FDD, the average gross sales per unit is $1.2M. The median is $1.1M. Note: this is gross revenue, not profit. Actual owner earnings vary based on location, operating costs, and management.
What is Hurts Donut's franchise failure rate?
Based on SBA 7(a) loan data, Hurts Donut has a charge-off rate of 37.5% across 16 loans, meaning 37.5% of franchise loans were charged off. Charge-off rates are one proxy for franchise risk, though they do not capture all closures. This data comes from FOIA-sourced SBA lending records.
How many Hurts Donut franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, Hurts Donut has 16 total units in the United States, including 2 franchised units and 1 company-owned units. 1 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.
Is Hurts Donut a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates Hurts Donut as a C-grade franchise with a risk score of 68 out of 100, based on our analysis of investment costs, revenue data, SBA loan performance, and growth trends. Our rating is based solely on publicly available FDD and government data; we recommend speaking with current franchisees before making any investment decision. This is not investment advice.
Data sourced from public FDD filings and SBA 7(a) FOIA records. Not financial advice.
For franchisors
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Data extracted from public FDD filings and SBA 7(a) loan disclosures (FOIA). This information is provided for research purposes only and does not constitute financial, legal, or investment advice. Verify all figures with the franchisor's current Franchise Disclosure Document before making any investment decision.